


The Family Way

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Drama, F/M, Family, Friendship, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-11
Updated: 2014-10-11
Packaged: 2018-02-20 18:24:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2438468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Well I thought since you were having a girls’ afternoon I would call the guys over and we would do as men do.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Family Way

They were so busy laughing that they didn’t hear the other laughter at all. Emily opened the door with her key, surprised to see the amount of house guests she had.

“Hey, you're home. Did you have a nice afternoon?” Hotch got up from the couch to greet her with a kiss.

He wasn’t alone. In various places in her living room were her father, her stepson, Morgan, Rossi, Will LaMontagne, and Kevin Lynch.

“Where’s Spencer?” Penelope asked.

She was part of Emily’s group which included her stepmother Natalie, JJ, and Jordan Todd. They had given Emily a little baby shower that afternoon at her parents’ place in Chevy Chase. After lunch and opening gifts, the women took the Chevy Chase Mall by storm. It had been an excellent afternoon. They planned to return to Emily’s condo for a quiet night with dinner and a movie. Now they weren't so sure if that would happen.

“He’s out of town this weekend.” Morgan replied. “He refused to tell me if it was Atlanta or not.”

“He might’ve gone to see his mom.” JJ said, walking into the living room to give Will a kiss.

Soon, all the women were greeting their significant others with sweet kisses. Not to be outdone, both Rossi and Morgan kissed and hugged Jordan. She smiled as Dave put his arm around her shoulder.

“Hey ladies, I get to double my pleasure.” She said. “I got Hustle and Flow.”

“I'm Flow.” Dave replied.

“What are you guys doing here?” Emily asked. She put her purse down on the coffee table, careful not to knock over the beer bottles. Jack was sitting on the couch sipping a juice box and football was on her TV. Everything was fine except the football.

“Well I thought since you were having a girls’ afternoon I would call the guys over and we would do as men do.” Hotch replied.

“Are there strippers hiding somewhere in here?” Emily looked all around, laughing a bit.

“They're gone already.” Rossi replied. “We didn’t want to be a bad influence on young Jack.”

“Come upstairs, baby.” Hotch whispered in her ear. “I have a surprise for you.”

“Aaron, we have company.”

“C'mon,” he took her hand. “I'm really excited to show you this. Ladies, there is a bottle of Riesling and a bottle of Moscato chilling in the fridge. I want you to help yourselves.”

“Mmm, Moscato.” Emily closed her eyes with a heavenly look on her face. “That is so unfair.”

“I’ll enjoy some for you.” JJ said.

“That does not make me feel any better.”

Emily went up the stairs hand and hand with Hotch, leaving their friends and family downstairs drinking and chatting. They got to the top and he told her to close her eyes.

“What is this?” she asked.

“Just indulge me, Emily. It’s a surprise.”

“OK.” She closed her eyes, smiling when he kissed her nose. Hotch opened the bedroom door at the top of the stairs, leading her in.

“Open your eyes.”

Emily did as he asked and she gasped. Then she looked at him.

“When…”

“Well, I know you were feeling a little apprehensive about getting too many things done before the baby came.” Hotch said. “But we’re so close now and I've been hiding most of this stuff at Rossi’s place. I decided that today would be the perfect day to surprise you with it.”

Emily was standing in the middle of a perfectly put together nursery. The walls were done in a spring green color with baby animal borders. All of the furniture was white; crib, dresser, dressing table, hope chest. There were pictures on the wall of pleasant outdoors scenes for every season. There were shelves on the wall for diapers or toys. Mobiles were attached to the ceiling and a new spring green carpet was on the floor. She looked at her husband.

“I don’t even know what to say.”

“Did I go overboard?” Hotch asked.

“I…it’s amazing. You did all of this yourself, Aaron?”

“I wish I could take all the credit. We all did, put it together with our own hands. That’s why I invited the people who love you over today. So much care went into this room because people love us. And they love our little girl.” He put his hands on her expanding belly. August was rapidly approaching; Emily was in her eighth month of pregnancy. It was only a matter of time before their child came into the world.

“This is so wonderful.” She tried to hold back the tears but failed. Emily threw her arms around him.

“Aww, you're crying.”

“Of course I'm crying, Aaron, I'm nearly overflowing with hormones. And I'm married to the most amazing man on the face of the earth.”

“I can find no room for argument there.” he grinned, his dimples poking holes into his cheeks. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Hotch.”

He put his arms around her, exhaling as he held her close. When Emily kissed him, Hotch wished they were alone. They were alone in the room of course but there were a lot of people waiting for them downstairs. He didn’t care about them at all as their kissing intensified. She hadn't been feeling well lately and of course Hotch never bothered her, but he did miss intimacy with his wife. He couldn’t help it if he felt like a horny teenage boy sometimes. Emily had no problem turning him down when she wasn’t in the mood.

“Hey!” Morgan’s voice from downstairs invaded their moment. “Stop making out up there and c'mon. We’re hungry.”

“I admit to promising food for a job well done.” Hotch whispered, his lips still lingering over Emily’s.

“This is definitely a job well done. But if you feed them they may never leave.”

He laughed, kissing her again before hugging her close. They left the nursery and returned to their friends and family downstairs. Emily wanted to hug and kiss everyone; the nursery was so beautiful and she loved it. Her father was last and she was once again holding back tears as he held her close. She went and put her arm around Natalie.

“We were planning to come here, order dinner, and then watch a movie.” Emily said. “Are you guys up for it?”

“A chick flick?” Morgan asked.

“Surely there’s something we all can agree on.” Emily said, shooting him a look.

The guys looked skeptical. They weren't outnumbered but somehow knew they would be outvoted. But there was free food in the deal and plenty of beer in the fridge. So they agreed and knew they would have to deal with whatever came their way.

“I’ll call in dinner.” Gregory said, taking his cell phone off his hip. “Does everyone like barbecue?”

That was definitely something they all could agree on. After their hard work and hard play, a plate of barbecue would really hit the spot. Emily went into the kitchen for something to drink while everyone was discussing what to order. Dave was in there grabbing a beer for himself and pouring some more wine for Jordan.

“You can call your friend too, Dave.” She said.

“You should know by now I don’t have any friends.” He replied.

“I'm serious. I didn’t know this was going to be a mostly couples thing…we’d love to have her.”

“There is no her.”

“Isn't there always a her?” Emily asked. “Or should I say a she? Grammatically, I think it’s a she.”

“Well, there was this one time in Marseilles…I don’t talk about it a lot…”

“Fine, be all mysterious.” She smiled gently hitting his shoulder. “But you really don’t have to hide someone you care about from us. We’re friends, we’re family, and we’ll love her if you do.”

“I appreciate that, Em, I really do. I’ll keep it in mind.”

“You do that.”

She smiled and walked out of the room. Dave smiled too, grabbing the bottle and glass before following her.

***

“You don’t have to pause it.” Hotch stood up from the couch and scooped his sleeping son into his arms. “I've seen this one before.”

“Are you sure?” Emily asked. She didn’t call him honey, almost did, but there was still a little formality with the team around.

“Mmm hmm. I’ll be back.”

Jack had fallen asleep. It was a little past his bedtime anyway but it was Saturday and he wanted to stay up with the grownups. His stepmother indulged him and his father agreed. Gregory had called in an order from The Pit, which was one of the best barbecue takeout places in the DC Corridor. They had honey barbecue ribs and chicken, barbecued baked beans, cole slaw, corn on the cob, and delicious hot potatoes.

They weren't really hot but were oven baked potato wedges sprinkled with Old Bay seasoning. Jack loved those the most. After dinner, some more beer, conversation, and the guys going down to get all the packages from Natalie’s SUV, they settled in for a movie. Jack being there made the choice a little different than it would’ve been on another night.

Both Hotch and Emily put the nix on _Terminator 2: Judgment Day_. That would definitely be too violent. Morgan said he refused to sit through any interpretation of Jane Austen or one of the Bronte sisters. No one was really in the mood for a family film.

“ _Sneakers_.” Garcia suggested. “You can't go wrong; excellent cast, very little violence, no sex, and just a few bad words. Plus River Phoenix is in it.”

“It’s got my vote.” Jordan and JJ said in unison.

Everyone thought it was a good idea so Hotch put it in the DVD player and they all got comfortable. It was about an hour into the film that Jack fell asleep. He’d situated himself between Hotch and Emily, cuddling close to his stepmother and her gigantic stomach. Emily had no problem with it; she loved to snuggle with Jack.

It probably wasn’t 25 minutes before he was asleep. But Hotch just let him rest as they enjoyed the film. Now he wanted to take him up to bed. No doubt he would be up with the crows for breakfast and cartoons. One of these days, the little guy would come to appreciate sleeping in. His father surely did, though it was a rare occurrence.

As Hotch was going upstairs, Dave took his cell phone out of his pocket. It was vibrating and he looked at the text message. He typed something in, slipped it back in his pocket, and stood.

“I should probably get going.” He said.

“Is everything alright?” JJ asked.

“Yeah. I got a text; I need to handle some things.”

“Rossi, just admit you’ve been summoned by your woman and get out of here.” Morgan said.

The older profiler smirked but everyone laughed.

“I am not the summoned type.” Rossi replied.

“Mmm hmm, that’s what we all think.” Will said.

“I don’t think that.” Kevin said, which led to more laughter.

“I’ll walk you out Dave.” Emily said, struggling some to get up from the couch.

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Yes, I do; I'm a good hostess.”

She finally got to her feet and they started to the front door after he said goodnight to everyone.

“Don’t say anything.” He told Emily as he opened the front door.

“What am I going to say?”

“I don't know but I see that look in your eye.”

“You don’t have to keep secrets from us. And don’t you dare say I did…that was different.”

“How do you know it was different?” Dave asked.

“Well…” Emily thought for a second and then it dawned on her. “She's in the FBI, isn’t she? Is she in the BAU?”

“Goodnight, Emily.” Dave leaned to kiss her cheek. “Tell Hotch I said goodnight and that I had a great day hanging out and creating your nursery.”

“It’s really beautiful. Thank you so much. Drive safely OK?”

He nodded and walked out. Emily went back into the living room.

“Did you get anything out of him?” JJ asked.

“She's in the FBI.”

“He told you that?” Morgan asked.

“His eyes did.” Emily replied.

“I think I know who it is.” JJ said.

“You know who who is?” Hotch asked, coming back down the stairs.

“Rossi’s lady friend.” Morgan replied. “What do you know about it Hotch?”

“I know that I don’t want to know.” He sat down on the couch.

Emily smiled, looking over at JJ.

“Who do you think it is, JJ?”

“C'mon,” Hotch slipped his arm around his wife’s shoulder. “We’ll finish the movie and then if you insist, you can then speculate about Dave’s love life. Let that be when I leave the room.”

Emily smiled, giving JJ the ‘call me’ signal. The blonde nodded, laughing.

***

When the movie was over and everyone cleared out, Gregory and Natalie stayed behind. Emily and her father had tea in the living room while Natalie helped Hotch with the cleaning in the kitchen. He put the radio on, the 70s station was playing good songs. He was loading the dishwasher while Nat put the leftover food away.

“I bet Jack is gonna want barbecue for breakfast.” Hotch said smiling.

“Waffles are probably better for him.” She replied. “The nursery is just lovely, Aaron.”

“Thanks. I figured since you and the girls were doing something so nice for Emily, I would do this. She didn’t want to do anything until after the baby came but I couldn’t help it.”

“She’s cautious.”

“I know. I'm cautious too. I'm excited but I'm anxious for the baby to be here with us.”

“Are you ready?” Natalie asked.

“That’s an interesting question. I don't know how ready someone can be for parenthood. I'm excited to see our baby; I'm excited for Emily to be a mother. But with what we do…I missed so much with Jack. I still miss things.

“I feel guilty thinking we’re gonna miss so many things with the new baby. I'm more concerned with Emily than myself. She wants to be a mother, she deserves to be.”

“She will be, and you're going to be a good father. Gregory and I will do everything we can to make sure that you’re all healthy and happy.”

“You guys have gone above and beyond.” Hotch replied, wiping down the counters.

“We’re family…it’s not above and beyond. We will do anything we can for Emily and for you as well. We love you both. It goes without saying that we will be madly in love with our grandchild. We’re always going to love her, and Jack too.”

“Thanks Natalie.”

“You're welcome. You're family.”

Hotch was a bit surprised but he had the overwhelming urge to hug her. So he took a deep breath and did just that. Natalie laughed some, kissing his cheek.

“You are really a sweetheart, Aaron.”

“Yes ma'am.”

000

“You're getting bigger everyday.” Gregory said, finishing his tea. “Are you excited?”

“There has to be a word bigger than excited.” Emily replied. “Whatever it is, that’s how I feel.”

“Aaron put a lot of love into that nursery.”

“I know he did, Daddy. It’s really amazing and I think the baby is going to love it. I don’t know how much time she’ll spend there though.”

“Don’t worry…we’ll have another one just like it at our house.”

“You guys are sacrificing a lot because Hotch and I aren’t prepared to.” Emily said.

“That’s not true, and we’re not looking at it that way. Nat and I are so excited to have the baby with us. We of course want you and Aaron, and young Jack too, to enjoy being a family. But we want to do this for you too. The FBI has always been your dream, Emily. There's nothing wrong with living it out like you're doing. You have a really good support system.”

“I know Daddy.” She kissed his cheek. “There are no words to express our appreciation. Just knowing how loved our little girl is going to be…it means so much.”

Gregory hugged his daughter and Emily exhaled. There was still so much on her mind about what would happen after the baby came. Most of the time those thoughts were preempted by worrying about her coming into the world safely. Her family had been through a lot in these last few years, the baby’s arrival would hopefully bring happiness and calm. The job was always going to be stressful and tiring. Knowing she and Hotch would come home to two wonderful, loving children gave Emily something to smile about.

“I love you.” Emily pressed her forehead on Gregory’s.

“I love you too, Princess. I'm so happy that you're in such a good place right now. You deserve all the good fortune in the world and much more.”

“You were always an overindulgent father.” She smiled.

“I wasn’t there enough.” Gregory replied.

“You're here now…that’s what matters to me.”

***

“Are you asleep?”

Hotch asked the question a few hours later as they lay in bed in the dark. Emily was on her back and he rested on his side beside her. He was drawing figure eights across her belly with his finger as their daughter moved around.

“I was.” She replied.

“Did I wake you?”

“No, she did. She’s a little bouncy right now.”

“Do you think it was the barbecue?” Hotch asked.

“No, I don’t have heartburn or anything like that. Was there caffeine in the tea we drank this evening?”

“It was decaf.”

“OK.” Emily turned on her side and looked at him. Almost every position but her back was slightly awkward these days but sometimes the baby preferred when she lay on her side. The faster she calmed down, the faster Emily could get back to sleep. Luckily tomorrow was Sunday, in case the little one was up for a while.

“Did you have a good day, baby?” Hotch slid his arms around her and held her close. He held her as close as he could. There was plenty of belly between them.

“I really did. It was fun to be out shopping with Nat and my friends. Then coming home to my great surprise and spending the evening with everyone…I couldn’t ask for more. You guys worked really hard.”

“It was fun. Well, your dad and I kind of dealt with some supervisory issues. So we both stepped down and let Dave take over.”

“Rossi must have loved that.” Emily replied laughing.

“Yeah.” Hotch laughed too. “And you should've seen Jack; he was the best helper ever. He and Will got the shelves up on the wall and he helped Derek with the wallpaper border. He had a lot of fun.”

“Sometimes when we’re in the middle of great moments like this I can forget that…”

“Yeah.” Hotch nodded. “I can't believe I'm going to say this but um, you don’t have to be in the BAU. If you want to transfer to a job that allows you to be home with our daughter, I will always support you.”

“You know what I really want?” Emily asked.

“What?”

“For us to have everything we want professionally and personally. I want to be in the BAU, I always have since I joined the FBI. I want to be a good mom and a good wife. I want to get a little more sleep though I don’t see that happening in the near future. I want to excel at everything because I'm an overachiever. I want to make this world safer and better for Jack and our little girl without a name. I want to love you for the rest of my life.”

Hotch understood all of that. He felt the same way. He honestly wasn’t sure he could be the BAU Unit Chief and a good dad and husband. He knew he would never give up trying though. He would have Emily’s back and she would have his.

Sometimes the fear that it wouldn’t work nearly crippled him. He’d already failed at marriage and family once. But holding her close, Hotch knew he was never letting go. Emily brought a meaning to his life that he could never have alone. They were partners in every since of the word.

“You need to get some sleep, Mrs. Hotchner.”

“That’s SSA Hotchner.” Emily replied.

“I'm SSA Hotchner.”

“Then who am I?”

“You're…Mrs. SSA Hotchner.”

Emily giggled, giving him another kiss.

“You know I have a surefire cure for your sleeplessness, baby.”

“I hate to tell you this but you're not allowed to touch me tonight.”

“I don't know, I think you’ll like it. Just let me give it a go. If you don’t like it, I’ll back off.”

“OK.” She conceded. “Give it a go.”

Hotch grinned, she could see his dimples in the dark. He lifted the sleep shirt over Emily’s head, lay on his back, and held her in his arms. Then he started to rub the small of her back.

“Ohhh, mmm, that’s wonderful.” Emily exhaled and let her body relax next to his.

“I told you you'd like it.” He whispered, kissing her again. “Just relax, baby, and think of sweet things. Think of dancing barefoot or singing songs with Jack. Think of warm pancakes and comfy pillows. Think of me and you, forever and ever and ever and ever.”

She laughed, stroking her hand down his chest and settling on his stomach. Emily closed her eyes and let the sound of Hotch’s voice and the rhythm of his hand guide her to sleep. There was one more day to this weekend, one more day to just be Aaron and Emily. She wanted to enjoy every second of it that she could.

***

  



End file.
